Walking Dead legal battle reveals Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner was paid $30 million for the final three seasons of hit series

By Demeter Stamell For Dailymail.com

Published: 03:21 EST, 15 July 2017 | Updated: 05:19 EST, 16 July 2017

The ongoing legal drama between The Walking Dead and network AMC has also brought some other revelations to light.

A judge ordered the television network to hand over contracts related to two of its other hits series, Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

But it was the deal AMC brokered with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner which has raised the most eyebrows.

Cleaning up: Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner pocketed $30 million from the final three seasons of his hit series

Cleaning up: Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner pocketed $30 million from the final three seasons of his hit series

The 52-year-old writer, director and producer was paid a whopping $30 million for seasons five, six and seven of the critically acclaimed series, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The deal was struck after long and tense negotiations between the network and Weiner over cost-cutting measures, product placement and shortened episodes for more advertising.

Weiner was paid an initial $2.5 million just for signing the contract, with the remaining $27.5 million made up by episode fees, royalty fees, and writing, directing and producing fees.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he was paid $187,000 for each episode of season five, plus a $5000 royalty for each episode.

Ongoing negotiations: The deal was struck after long and tense negotiations between the TV creator and the AMC network

Ongoing negotiations: The deal was struck after long and tense negotiations between the TV creator and the AMC network

Coming out on top... According to The Hollywood Reporter, Weiner was paid $187,000 for each episode of season five, plus a $5000 royalty for each episode

Coming out on top... According to The Hollywood Reporter, Weiner was paid $187,000 for each episode of season five, plus a $5000 royalty for each episode

For season six, he earned $195,000 per episode, with a $5000 royalty fee for each.

His fee was increased once again for season seven, earning him $275,000 for each season seven episode, with a $5000 royalty for each episode.

The contract stipulated he provide the network with 13 episodes for each season.

He was also paid an additional $280,000 for a 14th episode in the final season.

And the winner is... Weiner was also paid an award bonus based on any Emmy and Golden Globes the series received

And the winner is... Weiner was also paid an award bonus based on any Emmy and Golden Globes the series received

Weiner was also paid an award bonus based on any Emmy and Golden Globes the series received.

He was paid $25,000 for each award nomination and $125,000 for each award win. 

It is estimated he pocketed around $1.1 million in award bonuses alone.

There were some stipulations though.

Conditions apply: There were some stipulations though. Each episode of the final three seasons had to be exactly 47:05 minutes long to make time for advertisers

Conditions apply: There were some stipulations though. Each episode of the final three seasons had to be exactly 47:05 minutes long to make time for advertisers

Each episode of the final three seasons had to be exactly 47:05 minutes long to make time for advertisers. 

This was two minutes less per episode than in previous seasons.

Episodes were also able to include product placements as decided by AMC. 

Finally, the final episode of the series had to be written into two parts.   

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